


and to think i've been holding my breath

by angstlairde



Series: in a kinder galaxy [5]
Category: Star Wars: Battlefront (Video Games)
Genre: 3 Things, 3+1 Things, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Humor, Post: Star Wars: Battlefront II, Public Display of Affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 13:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13524804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstlairde/pseuds/angstlairde
Summary: 3 times Del and Iden displayed public affection, and 1 time they didn't.....For bitchycornish who requested “fluffy pda were everyone kinda just accepts because they’ve all been secretly (some not so secretly) shipping then from the beginning for del/iden"





	and to think i've been holding my breath

**Author's Note:**

> the longest del/iden fic i've written yet *throws confetti*

**01.**

The sandy maw of Jakku was already devouring the wreckage of the battle. If Iden never encountered sand again, it would be too soon. There was grit in her clothes, and sand in her hair, and she was actually okay with the fact that her x-wing was destroyed, because then she didn’t have to clean it.

The silence rang in her ears.

Shriv led the way back to where the  _Corvus_ was waiting, Dio hovering close to the Duros’ shoulder. For once, Shriv let it be. Del and Iden lagged behind, hand-in-hand, reveling in their new-found affection. (Maybe it wasn’t new, Iden wasn’t sure about that anymore.)

Somewhere, during the course of the day, Iden had injured her knee, and now it was starting to throb. She nearly lost her footing in the sand, and Del wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her up.

“Alright?” he asked softly, and Iden looked at him, nodding.

“Yeah.”

She wanted to kiss him again. Instead, she slid her own arm around Del’s waist, and his arm slipped up to her shoulders. Iden didn’t think she would ever want to stop touching him.

“What happened?” he asked, still soft, like he didn’t want to break the silence of the once-screaming planet, and Iden had to agree with that. She shrugged.

“I don’t know. Could have happened anywhere.”

Del nodded, tightened his grip on her ever so slightly, and they kept walking in silence.

The  _Corvus_ was parked on the blowing sand, the ramp open, Shriv and Dio waiting for them halfway up it.

“You alright?” Shriv called, and Iden attempted to give him a smirk, but it felt more like a grimace.

“More or less,” she called back, as she limped up then ramp with Del.

“Well, hurry up, then,” he said, turning. “I want to get off the blasted planet as soon as possible.”

“You and me both,” Del muttered under his breath.

Shriv had an elevator waiting for them when they got on board and the ramp shut with a hiss. He threw a thumb over his shoulder.

“In you get. I had to fend off some mechs for you.”

Iden wanted to know why they had to have an elevator for themselves, but at this point, she was too exhausted to care.

“Thanks, Shriv,” Del mumbled as the pair shuffled into the lift, and the doors slid shut. Del pushed the button to take them to the bridge, then leaned them both against the wall, and went to move away. Iden stopped him, sliding her other arm around him, and keeping him close.

The ride passes in silence.

The elevator  _dings!_  when they reached the bridge, and achingly, they got to their feet. Del left his arm around her shoulder, pressed a kiss to the side of her head, and Iden’s hand tightened in his jacket when they stepped out.

A hush quickly fell as everyone froze in their tracks. Then,

“Commander on deck!” and everyone jumped to attention.

Iden suppressed a smile, and straightened up as much as she could.

“As you were,” she said, and together, she and Del walked to the viewport. She heard quiet chatter going on between her officers, something that sounded like high fives, and she smiled.

Today was a good day.

 

 

**02.**

The mess hall was fuller than Iden had ever seen, but maybe it was because she always ate much earlier than everyone else, and because this morning, she slept a lot later than usual. She and Del walked in together, hands brushing. Iden didn’t want to ever be away from him.

The  _Corvus_ ’ crew had shrunk in size when the left the Empire, but both Iden and Del were surprised when many beings had volunteered to become permanent crew. After looking them up, because some habits were hard to break, they learned that almost every being that was now on their crew had been either a former Imperial, or Imperial-affiliated.

They had a ship full of traitors.

It made Iden feel a sudden surge of savage satisfaction whenever she thought about it, like now. She wondered offhandedly if that’s what a mother feels like when her child achieves something brilliant.

“Now I remember why I get up early,” Del said, nudging her arm, and pointing to the caf machine. “Because anything made after 0500 hours is absolute shit.”

Iden snorted a laugh and shoved his arm.

“Just get some breakfast. I’ll go save us some seats.”

There was a small table that sat four people in the back corner by the viewport that acted as the starboard wall on this level. (Privately, Iden didn’t like how much transperisteel was all over their ship, but what could she do about it.) Generally, Iden and Del, and Shriv, when he felt like it, sat at that table, but at the hours they got up, they could usually choose whichever table that wanted. Currently - and that surprised Iden - that table was empty, completely devoid of life.

She cocked her head, glanced around, narrowed her eyes, then sat down. All clear, no traps set off (yet), which struck her as odd, seeing as it had a fantastic view of both space, and the people coming and going. That was another reason Iden liked that spot. Clean sight lines of the entire mess.

Del was heading back to her now, balancing one tray on each hand. He smiled when he saw her watching him, and she couldn’t help but smile back. She felt so much lighter with the Empire gone. It was easy to smile now. It was also easy to lean up when Del got to her to kiss him. She felt like it was risky, or forbidden or something like that to kiss him in public, but… she didn’t care.

For once, she decided to throw all caution out the window.

Besides, it wasn’t like fraternizing was against the rules. This wasn’t the Empire.

Del smiled against her mouth, and then she was smiling, and then they were hardly kissing. He pulled back, sat their food down, and sat down across from her, like normal.

Iden glanced around the mess surreptitiously, but nothing seemed to be amiss. If anything, the general mood of the population had improved, though she didn’t quite understand why.

What puzzled her more, was that several people were passing credits around, like there had been a bet. She frowned, and nudged Del’s elbow with her fork.

“Are you aware of a bet going on around?” she asked softly. Del looked up at her, frowned and shook his head.

“No… why?”

Iden tilted her head subtly the direction of everyone else.

“Because somebody just won one.”

 

 

**03.**

“And you know what else I don’t get?” Shriv asked, pacing the floor of Iden’s quarters. “How you walk so damn quietly!” he said, whirling to face Iden where she sat on the floor, leaning against a bunk, bottle of cheap Mandalorian beer in hand. They were in the barracks, an unused on normally, but tonight, everyone had congregated there with all the alcohol they could get there hands on. Iden figured they deserved it. (Iden figured they all deserved it).

Before Iden could reply to Shriv implied question, Del leaned forward from where he sat next to Iden, waving a hand in front of him to get Shriv’s attention.

“She’s’really jus’ a dozen Loth-cats in a flight suit,” he slurred, grinning, and turning sleepy eyes on Iden. She laughed, then, and wiped an eye.

“I was going to say I’m a Jedi, but, that, that statement is actually pretty accurate,” Iden said, tipping her head back against the bunk, and smiling at the ceiling. “‘M just a buncha cats.”

Shriv paused his steps and looked at the pair of them. Iden had a leg kicked in Del’s lap, and Del’s arm was slung across the top of her shoulders.

“You get really cuddly when you’re drunk,” he says contemplatively. Iden huffs.

“You’re jus’ jealous,” she teased, drawing out the word. Del nodded, seriously then grinned.

“You can’t do this,” he said, then tackled Iden, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing his nose into her shoulder, knocking them both to the floor. Iden laughed, could feel Del’s breath on her where he was laughing against her skin. She thumped him lightly in the back to get him off, and Del pulled back reluctantly, pressing a messy kiss to the corner of her mouth.

She knew they were drawing the attention of some of the others who weren't passed out or asleep, but she didn't care. Not now. Del sat up, and pulled Iden with him, and she didn't mind. Quite the contrary, she liked it when quiet, gentle Del got a little rough with her. It spiced things up, she thought. 

Iden shifted in Del's lap, getting comfortable, and he nosed at the bared strip of skin on her shoulder where her shirt was askew. Shriv was right, Iden thought. Del did get cuddly.

A handful of crew members approached the trio, tipsy and loose, and a Cathar, Octet Aster, if Iden remembered correctly, tipped her head in greeting.

"We're gonna play strip sabacc," she began bluntly, something Iden always had liked about her. "Wan' in?"

Iden gave a laugh, and felt Del snort against her shoulder.

"We're good. Besides," Iden said with a smirk, "you don't want to play me. I’d crush all of your asses, and the only person I'm interested in seeing naked is Del, so..."

The started a round of laughter, and she felt Del's cheek warm against her, but his chest vibrated with near-silent laughter, so she knew it was okay.

“I think we’ll pass,” Iden said, once she could be heard.

"Well, if you're ever interested, hit me up," Octet replied with a smirk as she left with a wave of her fingers.

"So," Del began, voice right at her ear. "Jus' how interested  _are_ you?"

 

 

**\+ 01.**

As it turned out, all Iden wanted to do was change clothes and go to bed. Del was fine with that. He’d mostly been teasing anyways, and besides, he was pretty tired too, and knew he’d have a pretty bad headache in the morning. That would be fun.

He carried her bridal style back to their room -  _when it had become_ their  _room, he wasn’t quite certain, but it had_  - Iden kicking her feet lightly, and humming something under her breath, nose pressed against his neck.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked softly, and Iden’s hand ran up his chest from where it was curled in her lap and hooked her fingers in his collar.

“Good,” she replied, quietly, sleepily, and Del smiled.

“Me, too.”

When they reached their quarters, Iden leaned to punch in the code so Del wouldn’t have to put her down. He crossed the floor and put her on the bunk, a bunk that could barely fit two people, but a bunk Del quite liked now. Iden sat up, kicked off her boots and pants, and snagged one of Del’s shirts from the end of the bed to wear. 

After Del changed, she kicked the covers back and he laid down, wrapping his arms around her waist. She pressed her nose into his shoulder, put her arms around his neck, and breathed.

There had been so much chaos the last few days, it was nice to just... lay there, in the quiet, in the dark, together.

Iden didn’t realize she was crying until Del was wiping her eyes gently.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Iden never cried, and while Del realized that was probably because of her upbringing, it still was like a knife to the chest when she did - and he knew what a knife to the chest felt like. 

Iden shrugged, wiping her eyes uselessly, and shook her head.

“I dunno, I dunno, I guess -” she took a shuddering breath and pressed her nose harder against him, hands gripping him tighter. “Maybe it’s my dad, maybe it’s G - Hask, maybe it’s Vardos. So much has happened, and it’s like it’s only just now catching up to me.”

Del threaded his fingers through her hair and cradled her to his chest.

“I know. Hask was your best friend. Vardos was your home, your father, well, he was your father. It’s  _okay_ , I swear, Iden.”

Iden shook her head, and pressed closer. She didn’t say anything, and Del didn’t say anything, he just held her, pressing his fingers into the skin of her side. Whatever she needed, he would give her, and if this was what she needed, well, Del was happy to give it.

They stayed pressed close together that night, and the next night, and almost every other night they were together. 

And they were happy.

**Author's Note:**

> because SCREW YOU KYLE


End file.
